What Are The Best Websites To Buy British Designer Vintage Clothing?
March 12, 2024You shop vintage to own valuable clothing at low prices. But, for that to happen, you must shop in the right place and the right way. In this article we explore what to do to find out What Are The Best Websites To Buy British Designer Vintage Clothing.
What Are The Best Websites To Buy British Designer Vintage Clothing?
Vintage shopping is a great way to populate your wardrobe with fashionable vintage clothing without spending a fortune. When you buy pre-loved designer clothes, you have greater flexibility to make your fashion statement in any way. Aside from the ability to make a unique fashion statement, vintage shopping is cheaper and more sustainable. However, it’s essential to consider certain factors to ensure you’re looking in the right place.
The Best Sites For Designer Vintage
John Redfern – advert for New York
Designer vintage differs from regular vintage, just as your designer dinner dress differs from another random dinner dress, even if they look the same. Designer vintage clothes are not just clothes from an older decade; they are designer clothes from a different fashion era. Needless to say, these pieces are more valuable than regular vintage pieces. That’s why more attention and care should go into choosing them; you can’t randomly get a designer vintage jacket online from the first place you check.
Generally, we recommend getting specific vintage pieces, like designer vintage, in online stores. While you may get a valuable designer vintage piece in East London after visiting a few vintage stores, opting for an online store is much easier. You don’t have to spend hours checking rack after rack; you can filter and search for What Are The Best Websites To Buy British Designer Vintage Clothing on your phone from the comfort of your home.
But how do you know which are the Best Websites To Buy British Designer Vintage Clothing?
● Reputation
Angele Delanghe and Fortnum & Mason spiral staircase. Author: Gryffindor / CC BY-SA
An online store’s reputation goes a long way in pointing out how good its services are. Vintage pieces are scarce and very valuable, so you shouldn’t throw your money away for a fake piece. This explains why you should always shop in an online store with a good reputation. You can ask your friends or colleagues about the best designer vintage stores they know; this will guide you to make a good choice.
While many thrift stores online claim to sell designer vintage pieces, not all of them sell high-quality pieces. In the same vein, some so-called designer vintage stores sell their pieces at ridiculously high prices- and, when all is said and done, you’ve bought a vintage bag that costs even higher than a new one of the same quality!
● Extra Costs
Maureen O’Sullivan in Hold That Kiss, 1938. Evening dress designed by Dolly Tree
When shopping online, there will be extra costs like shipping fees and added tax. Although they usually seem insignificant, these costs can quickly add up and become unreasonable. Imagine getting designer vintage clothes that cost £120 and paying additional fees of £50; what could be more ludicrous than that?!
To avoid unpleasant surprises and disappointment, find out how an online store charges clients for shipping to your area so you can know what to expect. Even if you find an excellent designer piece at a reasonable price, if the extra costs are excessive, feel free to drop it and check another online store.
● What Are The Best Websites To Buy British Designer Vintage Clothing – Specialization
Bianca Mosca wedding dress. Image via Wikipedia.
While many vintage stores sell vintage clothing across different eras and styles, it’s always better to go to a website that specializes in what you’re looking for.
A store that specializes in vintage for adventure for different countries may be generic if you’re looking for wedding vintage. For British designer vintage, online stores in the UK are a better bet than a Canadian vintage website. Aside from the fact that a UK vintage store tends to have more British vintage, they also offer better prices. Since their sellers are more likely to get their inventory from consignment stores and collectors in the UK, they get them at lesser prices- so they can sell the pieces for lesser.
How To Shop British Designer Vintage Clothing Online
Vivienne Westwood. Author: Mattia Passeri. CC BY-SA 4.0
Even though you’re shopping in the best designer vintage store online, you might miss out on the real deal without following some essential shopping tips:
● Shop by Era
Victor Stiebel evening dress, late 1950s Mabalu(photograph), Victor Stiebel (dress). / CC BY-SA
As mentioned earlier, vintage clothes are of different eras- and each period is unique in style. If you were shopping in your local vintage shop, you might not need to have a particular era in mind- you can randomly check across different pieces from several periods. But when shopping on a vintage website, it’s better to search for the era you particularly want. For a specific vintage piece, you should search for the period that popularized it. For instance, if you want a pair of designer high-rise jean trousers, you should search for the 2000s era.
It saves you time to search within the era you’re looking for. Since several periods qualify as vintage, you’ll likely come across too many options if you don’t pick an era (or two).
● Check for pictures
Model wears a navy blue spring suit by fashion designer Madame Champcommunal of Worth.
Ministry of Information Photo Division Photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Buying vintage pieces on a website without seeing pictures is inadvisable, even risky. Since you can’t physically see it, the picture of a piece is the only way to have a clear idea of it. If you can’t see a piece of designer clothing, there’s no way you can picture yourself wearing it, or visualising how it would look on you.
Regardless of a seller’s text-based details about a vintage dress, you shouldn’t purchase it unless you see a picture. The main reason a seller might not post a product’s picture is when it has a significant fault. In the same vein, if the picture of a designer vintage piece isn’t clear enough, you shouldn’t go for it. Unclear and blurry pictures often reflect a lack of credibility- it’s better to be safe than sorry.
● Ask questions
Hardy Amies brown and beige wool checked suit 1945.
Ministry of Information Photo Division Photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
When you’re about to order a designer vintage piece and have a question, ask the seller. Reaching out to a seller is the surest way to get more information about what you’re about to buy. Feel free to ask a seller any questions or raise any concerns about a vintage piece.
An important question for you to ask an online seller on a vintage website is how to maintain the piece you’re about to buy. Clothes from older eras weren’t made with the same materials as the ones designers use today, so it’s always better to ask. For instance, a designer vintage peice from Italy may not be made from your regular fast fashion peice from the same place. You don’t want to discolour or fray your designer vintage dress by wrongly washing it in the washing machine or drying it incorrectly.
Another discussion to have with a seller is about sizing. Although all sellers often give the size of their vintage clothes, it’s always better to confirm with the seller. Some sellers use the original size of the designer vintage piece- and the sizing range may differ from the one we use today.
● Don’t be tempted.
Dame Zandra Rhodes, 2012.
Author: Minxymoggy / CC BY-SA
You’ll surely find many amazing deals while shopping online; some of these ‘deals’ are designer clothes you can wear for festivals, and others would end up at the back of your closet for years. That’s why you must ask yourself more than once, whether you truly see yourself wearing what you’re about to order. Not all fantastic offers are for you, and claiming them would be a waste of money because you may not wear them.
If you get tempted to fill your shopping bag online with British Designer Vintage Clothing you don’t need, you’d be throwing your money away. Even if they cost £25, they are a waste if you won’t wear them.
What Are The Best Websites To Buy British Designer Vintage Clothing – Conclusion
Ultimately, the best website for you To Buy British Designer Vintage Clothing is the one that has what you want and offers it at a reasonable price. So, don’t feel bad about checking different vintage stores online for your designer vintage piece.
References
- https://bellatory.com/clothing/TheBenefitsofBuyingUsedClothing#:~:text=The%204%20Main%20Advantages%20of,vintage%20style%20looks%20more%20authentic
- https://re-fashion.co.uk/blogs/news/10-reasons-to-buy-second-hand-clothes
- https://rockdahouse.shop/how-do-i-choose-the-best-online-store/
